Forgive your stylist – Sleeping Beauty as a West End drag panto at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Heading to a drag panto is almost a logical action between Christmas and New Year celebration, embracing both glam, silliness and good spirits: Everyone can be in drag, everyone can be a panto dame, non-binary and cis performers alike - drag is no longer a boys-only club. And everyone is welcome who can embrace smutty scurrilous jokes adult (age guidance 16+) about … Continue reading Forgive your stylist – Sleeping Beauty as a West End drag panto at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Croydon is London’s Borough Of Culture 2023: Aladdin at Fairfield Halls

On arrival from the vaults of its car park, the massive multilevel foyer of the Fairfield Halls in London's Borough Of Culture 2023 Croydon is breathtakingly busy. People in Christmas hats and jumpers take family pictures on almost every corner, in front of fairy light curtains, on stairs and the funky Christmas trees crowned with disco balls, … Continue reading Croydon is London’s Borough Of Culture 2023: Aladdin at Fairfield Halls

The girls have spoken: Five stars for The Snow Queen at the Polka Theatre

As a lifelong Hans-Christian Andersen listener and reader, I am keen to join as many stage interpretations of my favourite fairy tale as I can, and am therefore very excited to visit Wimbledon's Polka Theatre for the first time. It is a venue dedicated to productions for children which has been based here since 1979. … Continue reading The girls have spoken: Five stars for The Snow Queen at the Polka Theatre

The Silence of Snow: the Life of Patrick Hamilton written and performed by Mark Farrelly

Nine years ago The Silence of Snow: The life of Patrick Hamilton had its premiere at the world-famous  Edinburgh Fringe Festival, performed by its author Mark Farrelly. Since then numerous stagings followed in various places, and tonight is the 100st performance (congratulations!) at Brockley's Jack Studio Theatre, one of London's finest pub theatres and worth travelling … Continue reading The Silence of Snow: the Life of Patrick Hamilton written and performed by Mark Farrelly

Caryl Churchill’s debut Owners at the Jermyn Street Theatre

Always been curious about the oevre of playwright Caryl Churchill, it is a great opportunity to start with her debut play, Owners, which is being performed this autumn at the Jermyn Street Theatre. I wanted to visit this intimate seventy seat venue for years,  just around the corner from the noisy, glaring buzz of Piccadilly Circus. … Continue reading Caryl Churchill’s debut Owners at the Jermyn Street Theatre

The Choir Of Man at the Arts Theatre – happy first West End anniversary

Of course I am in support of a first anniversary celebration dedicated to the suicide prevention Campaign Against Living Miserably who have crossed my stagy paths more than once before - the jukebox musical Choir Of Man is sharing some limelight with CALM, now having completed their first year in the West End. After all, the day correlates with … Continue reading The Choir Of Man at the Arts Theatre – happy first West End anniversary

Trying out London’s theatre roulette: Seeing Jersey Boys at the Trafalgar Theatre

It is not easy to pick and agree on a show with visitors who are musically far more trained than oneself - but luckily, this summer I had two visitors from Hamburg who were crazy enough to try out London's relatively new theatre roulette, apparently a successful concept from New York where a show is … Continue reading Trying out London’s theatre roulette: Seeing Jersey Boys at the Trafalgar Theatre

Halloween is near, very near: Shock Horror at the Churchill Theatre

"Please take your seats, the performance is starting in ten minutes" is a sentence I have not heard shouted through a theatre foyer before on arrival - at tonight's return to the Churchill Theatre this is a first one. It turns out this is not uttered to the general public but the college kids occupying … Continue reading Halloween is near, very near: Shock Horror at the Churchill Theatre

Magic reimagined: Unbelievable has arrived at the Criterion Theatre

A first visit to the Criterion Theatre, nestled below the centre of Piccadilly Circus and its glaring world-famous lights and silhouettes, is like entering a hidden Italian music hall palazzo in the West End: Painted tiles, vast mirrors, detailed glass art and red seats promise an unforgettable visit. First opened in 1874, this classic but nevertheless unique London theatre has … Continue reading Magic reimagined: Unbelievable has arrived at the Criterion Theatre

THE W.I.G OF LIFE: A CONFERENCE A radical exploration of collective responsibility hosted in the Camden People’s Theatre

"You are all here, because we need your input on the final question on biological life: should we give it another chance or let it perish forever?" the makers of Psychonaut Theatre are asking in a not so distant future. A binary answer is needed from the programs the decorated audience presents tonight: Do we … Continue reading THE W.I.G OF LIFE: A CONFERENCE A radical exploration of collective responsibility hosted in the Camden People’s Theatre